Referee Expert Says Egypt Was Unfairly Treated in World Cup Loss to Argentina

Egypt was eliminated from the 2026 World Cup after a dramatic 3-2 defeat to Argentina in the round of 16 on July 8. The Egyptian team and fans expressed outrage over the refereeing decisions, particularly the disallowed goal by Mostafa Ziko and a penalty claim for Mohamed Salah that was not awarded before Argentina's winning goal.

Dale Johnson, a refereeing expert from the BBC, analyzed the controversial calls and concluded that Egypt was indeed disadvantaged. He criticized the VAR intervention that led to Ziko's goal being disallowed, stating it conflicted with the tournament's refereeing guidelines, which allowed more natural contact to maintain game flow. The decision to annul the goal due to slight contact between Marwan Attia and Lisandro Martinez was inconsistent with previous rulings.

Johnson also reviewed the incident involving Mohamed Salah, who fell inside Argentina's penalty area after contact with Alexis Mac Allister. Although the contact was similar in nature to the one involving Attia, the higher threshold for awarding penalties inside the box meant the referees correctly decided not to intervene. Johnson explained that if the foul on Salah had occurred outside the penalty area, the goal would have been disallowed. Ultimately, the refereeing decisions contributed to Egypt's painful exit from the tournament.